It's Her Loss
by CBloom2
Summary: I couldn't leave last night's episode without any brotherly interaction, so I've made my own. Spoilers for last night's episode.


**Awww, who didn't want to give Ethan a big hug last night? I thought Honey was behaving like a petulant child if I'm honest - I didn't like the way they left it - not to mention no Cal, so of course, my mind began to work overtime so I'm adding a little something between the brothers at the end of the shift. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Usual disclaimer in that I don't own anyone that you recognise - if I did the brothers would be in the next episode when it sounds like somethings about to hit the fan, instead of it more than likely being 'super nurse' who's front and centre! (Sorry for ranting)**

 **It's Her Loss**

Dr Caleb Knight strode purposefully up to the bar - he was ready for this drink. He was closely followed by Rita, Robyn and Lofty, who were chattering away about what sounded like a load of nothing to Cal. He bought a round of drinks and took a slow drink of his beer, closing his eyes as he felt it slide down his throat, "Wow, you look like you're enjoying that!" Rita chuckled as she sidled up to him. He looked at her and smiled, "This is what got me through the day," he told her, taking another mouthful.

Rita took a drink of her wine and looked at the young man carefully, "Erm Cal, have you seen Ethan today?"

For no apparent reason, Cal immediately felt his stomach tighten a little at her question, "No, I haven't seen him since this morning - I've been in cubicles all day, so I haven't seen many people. Why?"

Rita thought hard about whether to tell him what she had witnessed earlier in the day between his brother and Honey - surely it was up to Ethan to tell him, but having worked with the young doctors for over a year now, she knew that the quiet, bespeckled young man would probably not say anything.

"Why Rita? What's happened?" Cal could see that she was toying with the idea of telling him something and if it involved his brother, then he needed to know.

"Well, it's just that..." she began, trying to pick her words carefully, " Earlier on, there was a bit of a scene with Honey..."

Cal stood tall waiting for the nurse to carry on, although he was getting a bad feeling about where this might be leading.

"Noel was on about taking Ethan golfing, something to do with some possible son in law bonding and stuff, you know what Noel's like, but Honey stopped him. She then basically said that they were finished, that they had decided that it wasn't working...then she said that nobody had ever heard of a doctor going out with a stripper and she stormed off. Ethan looked crushed. He watched her leave then carried on with his day. I was just wondering if he was alright."

Cal sighed deeply. He'd been afraid of something like this happening. He had noticed that over the past couple of weeks, Honey had become more than a little frosty with Ethan, who seemed oblivious to it.

He took out his phone and sent Ethan a text asking him to join him in the pub - he didn't expect an answer.

For the next ten minutes, Cal stood silently drinking his beer, checking his phone every so often, wondering where his brother had got to. Suddenly, Lofty broke him out of is thoughts, "You ok?" he asked.

Cal threw him a small smile, "Yeah, just thinking..."

Lofty nodded and smiled at him. He'd heard about what had happened with Ethan, but decided against saying anything to Cal as he thought that it might upset him knowing that other people were talking about it. He gave Cal some money, "Will you get the drinks in - I'm going to the loo."

Cal ordered some more drinks and by the time they were ready, Lofty was back. Before he picked his beer up, he tapped Cal on the arm, "Cal, I've just seen Ethan..."

Cal tensed a little, "Where?"

Lofty inclined his head, "He's sat right in the corner, over there..."

Cal looked towards the direction that Lofty was pointing to. He couldn't see his brother but he could see his scarf hanging from a chair, "Thanks mate," he said to his curly haired friend. He picked up his drink and made his way over.

As he approached his brother, he could immediately gauge how he felt by his body language. He was slumped over the table, his hand on his drink, but none of it had been drunk. He looked...lost, for want of a better word.

"Hey nibbles, what are you doing sat here on your own?" he tried to sound upbeat.

Ethan's tired eyes looked up at him, "I'm getting used to being alone again," he snapped.

Cal sat opposite him "Oh Ethan, what happened?"

"What do you think happened? She got bored of me - just like everybody does. She said that I was trying to educate her with my films and such like, but I wasn't, I was trying to show her what I was like...that's all. It was obviously not what she wanted."

"I don't know what to say Eth," Cal tried to comfort. He was well aware of Ethan's preferences for foreign films etc but it was not a make or break thing in his mind.

"There's nothing to say is there? I just thought...well I thought that it might be different with Honey, it felt different. My stomach is still in knots when I think about her...I really liked her Cal, in fact, I think I was falling in love with her and now, well, that's it!"

He finally took a big mouthful of his own beer, almost choking as he couldn't drink it quick enough. He ended up finishing his pint in one go, causing Cal's worry meter to rise another notch. When he had finished, he slammed the glass down on the table, "What's wrong with me Cal? Please be honest."

Ethan looked to his big brother for guidance now, which made the older man a little uncomfortable if he was honest.

"There's nothing wrong with you Eth - honestly. Your choice of film or book or whatever may be different to other peoples but that's good, makes things more interesting. You're a good person, one of the best. You're kind, caring, brave, patient - maybe you need to loosen up a little sometimes but you're definitely more fun to be with now, and I should know seeing as I've known you all my life."

Ethan smiled softly, "Thanks, I think."

Cal chuckled as he patted his brother's arm, "Anytime. Come on, come and join the others..."  
"Oh no I couldn't, I don't want them talking about it - Rita actually heard her breaking up with me."

"I know, she told me everything. She was concerned about you, especially after it had been so public. Trust me, they'll only be bothered about you being ok."

"Maybe I'll join you for a few minutes," Ethan agreed grudgingly.

"That's the spirit," Cal told him as he grabbed his brother's coat and scarf.

Ethan followed a few paces behind his brother, feeling slightly wary of what the others might say.

"Ah there is the elusive Dr Hardy," he heard Rita say, as he looked up to see a huge smile on her face. He glanced round and saw Lofty and Robyn both sporting a similar expression.

Cal watched his brother as he seemed to relax slightly, "Whose round is it?" he asked.

"I believe it's mine," Rita took a step to the bar. A couple of minutes later, they all had a drink in hand, Rita cleared her throat, "Let's get rid of the elephant in the room," she looked towards Ethan, who suddenly found the floor interesting, "Ethan love, don't look like that, we've all had knock backs. You are a gorgeous human being and all I can say is that it's her loss! Now we mention it no more, let's raise our glasses to Dr Hardy - one of the best!"

"Dr Hardy," Lofty and Robyn raised their glasses.

Ethan flushed as he took a drink, thankful for having such good friends. He felt a nudge on his shoulder, so he turned towards his brother, who was holding his own glass up, "To nibbles...the best brother anyone could wish for."

Then Ethan felt a tear trail down his cheek.

 **Not keen on the ending, but you get the picture I hope. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Also a massive thank you to everyone who has ever read any of my stories, it's a great feeling knowing that you take time out of your day to read them.**


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